1. About the study / Michael Ellman and Vladimir Kontorovich -- 2. What we learn from insiders / Michael Ellman and Vladimir Kontorovich -- 3. The USSR in the mid-1980s : structural factors -- 4. The USSR in the mid-1980s : ruler's perceptions -- 5. Early attempts at change, 1983-1987 -- 6. 'Radical' economic reform, 1987-1989 -- 7. Political reform, 1988-1991 -- 8. Attempts at market reform, 1989-1991 -- 9. Reforms on the sectoral and enterprise levels -- 10. From reform to the eve of revolution